Nationality British Role Politician | Website www.james-j.co.uk Party Labour Party Name James-J Walsh Residence London, United Kingdom | |
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Full Name James John Walsh (Jnr) Born 25 July 1983 (age 41)
Lewisham, London, England ( 1983-07-25 ) Alma mater Oxford Brookes University, Oxford Occupation Voluntary Sector Executive | ||
Political party Labour Party (UK) Education Oxford Brookes University | ||
James "James-J" Walsh (born 25 July 1983) is an equality campaigner and Labour politician best known for his work as an LGBT rights campaigner, and as a local Councillor in Lewisham, London. His previous work includes being Campaigns Director of Out4Marriage, an LGBT charity that promotes same-sex marriage equality in the United Kingdom and beyond, for which he was cited amongst the 'top 10 most influential LGBT people' in the UK by The Independent newspaper's Pink List.
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Early life & education
Born in Lewisham, Walsh attended St Dunstan's College, an independent Christian school in Lewisham, London. Walsh is a graduate of Oxford Brookes University in Geography and Urban Planning. He served as the Deputy President: Welfare and Education of Oxford Brookes Students' Union from 2003-5. After graduating Walsh worked for The Consortium of LGBT Voluntary and Community Organisations UK.
Public Office
James-J currently holds public office as a Labour Councillor in the London Borough of Lewisham representing the Rushey Green Ward.
NUS LGBT Officer
Walsh was elected as NUS LGBT Officer (Open Place) at the Summer conference of the NUS LGBT Campaign 2005 as an independent candidate. He had been a member of the NUS National Council since 2004.
Out4Marriage
Walsh is a leading spokesperson from Out4Marriage. Walsh's role is Director of Campaigns, and he is attributed as co-authoring the official Out4Marriage response to the government consultation. Guido Fawkes, a political commentator from the political right, criticised Walsh, the Out4Marriage campaign and same-sex marriage lobbyists for seeking to force religious groups to marry gay couples.
Pride London
Walsh's role varied with his time at Pride London between 2006-2009, he was brought in as Youth Outreach coordinator and then promoted to the role of Associate Director: charitable purpose.
In 2012, Walsh wrote an article for the Pink Paper, criticising the organisation of Pride London's World Pride event. In his article he was critical of event management and the political messaging.